“Ignorance and innocence are not always synonymous” (Ziegler 5) is the moral of Frank Wedekind's play, Frühlings Erwachen, first performed in 1906. Wedekind uses satire to put warning against the dangers of lack of education for young people in the entertainment industry. Spring Awakening, as it is known to English audiences, tells the story of three teenagers who are awakened to their sexual desires. However, they are completely unprepared to deal with these desires. Therefore, “awakening leads to death” (Boa, Spring Awakening 27) in the case of two of the characters and leads to the third character becoming “imprisoned as a moral degenerate.” (Ziegler 5) In 2007, Spring Awakening: A New Musical, based on Wedekind's play, premiered on Broadway. He won eight Tony Awards. This musical took most of the original scenes and interwoven modern pop musical numbers into them. The songs served as a way to show the modernity of the issues raised in the play and to show the characters' innermost thoughts. In the original work, the problem lies with the parents, who failed to educate their children about sexual issues. and their bodies. This leaves their children unprepared to deal with their sexual urges for each other. Adults attempt to mold their children into their own “ideal self-image” (Boa, Spring Awakening 35-36). They do all this “in the name of morality, but actually to satisfy personal desires.” (Boa, Spring Awakening 35-36) One could argue that the tragedy of the play occurs because of the adults. Moritz commits suicide only after his father disowns him for failing school. Wendla dies at the hands of an abortionist only after her mother forces her to have an abortion out of fear of what people will do... half of the paper ...... Inc., 1987. 26-54. Stampa.Boa, Elisabetta. "Wedekind and the 'woman question'." Boa, Elizabeth. The sexual circus: Wedekind's theater of subversion. New York: Basil Blackwell Inc., 1987. 167-202. Print.Sater, Steven and Duncan Sheik. Spring Awakening: A New Musical. New York: Theater Communications Group, Inc., 2007. Print.Sater, Steven. "Preface." Sater, Steven and Duncan Sheik. Spring Awakening: A New Musical. New York: Theater Communications Group, Inc., 2007. VII-XV. Print.Spring Awakening: A New Musical. By Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. Perf. Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr. Eugene O'Neil Theatre, New York. February 2, 2007. Video.Wedekind, Frank. Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening). Start Publishing LLC, 2012. eBook.Ziegler, Francis J. “A Poem for Prudes.” Wedekind, Frank. Spring awakening. Getting Started Publishing LLC, 2012. 5-15. eBooks.